The Call
by Diary
Summary: AU. Hilda turns to Bobby during her pregnancy with Justin. WIP.


Disclaimer: I do not own Ugly Betty.

…

"Bobby."

He freezes at the sound on the other end of the line, forgetting the dismissal on the tip of his tongue. "Hilda, what is, baby girl? Are you okay? Your mama and the chipmunk?"

She takes a ragged breath, causing him to tense even further. "Hilda?"

"Just- please, come over. I- I just need to talk to you. Together. Please."

Looking down at the box cutters and toolkit, he thinks about the sweet Mercedes on Edward Del Rossi's yard. If he doesn't get it, Hilda's boyfriend and his crew will.

"Alright," he says with a sigh. "Give me fifteen minutes. You need anything?"

"No," she sniffles. "Bobby- Thank you."

"Hey, no problem," he says, still looking at the box cutters.

Hanging up, he quickly changes, telling himself it won't hurt when he hears about the Mercedes being stolen, when he sees Santos and the others taking pride in their success. While Santos is busy sweating in a mask, trying to figure out how to hotwire the car with nothing but a flashlight held by shaky hands to help him, Bobby will be with Hilda. In her case, the hot girl wins over the hot car anytime.

…

She's waiting on the porch. His stomach clenches at her pale skin and tear-stained cheeks.

"Where's the others?"

"Betty has a recital," she answers, surprising him by reaching over to hug him. "Thank you for coming."

"Hey, no problem," he repeats. "What's going on?"

"Come inside," she says, taking his hand.

To his surprise, she leads him up to her room, shutting the door.

"Not that I object, but Mrs S can-"

"They won't be back for another hour or two," she interrupts, pacing. "You know how everyone talked about how Gina Gambarro should have gotten out of her fix?"

"Yeah," Bobby says, confused. "Except for you. That was one time you and her actually got along. Oh, Christ. Don't tell me she's already-"

"No," Hilda says, shaking her head, still pacing.

Reaching out, he catches her hands and gets her to sit down on the bed. "Is it someone else?"

"Yeah," she answers, closing her eyes. "Bobby- I've been praying all week. Down on my knees, candle after candle, in front of all the saints we have. And I still don't know what to do."

Realisation hits him, and he sits down.

He's going to kill Santos. He can get a gun.

Shit, Hilda's only sixteen. And as much as he likes Mrs Suarez, he has no idea if her parents will be cool about this or if-

"Do you want to get rid of it?"

"I don't know," she cries, clutching her stomach.

It's still as flat as ever. "Hilda, how far?"

"About a month," she says, miserably. "I swear: we used a condom. It must have broke, but I didn't know."

Carefully reaching over, he wraps his arm around her, drawing her closer. "Look, we can figure this out."

Guilt hits him square in the gut. Unlike Santos Reynoso, he's never been stupid enough to get a girl pregnant. He has no freakin' idea how they're going to figure this out.

"Have you seen a doctor?"

"The school nurse," she answers, still crying. "Told me it'd cost fifty bucks at the clinic. She gave me special vitamins, told me what not to do if I planned on keeping it."

"Whatever you need," he says, feeling helpless.

Wrenching away, she says, "I need for this to have never happened! I could make this all go away- I could. Fifty bucks, I could take the bus, and this isn't the first time I've shown up there. I helped Stephanie, and I never said a word against her. I could make this all go away."

"Do you want to," he asks, quietly.

"I don't think I could live with myself if I did," she cries, falling to the floor.

Carefully, he slides down next to her.

"If it was to save someone, to save me, I could," she says, miserably. "I think Stephanie made the best decision she could have ever made when she did it, but I can't make it. Why can't I?"

"I don't know," he answers, honestly, leaning over to kiss her hair. He doesn't. He could give her a ride, hold her hand, and take her back home. She could just be Hilda Suarez, future prom queen, and go on with her life.

A baby changes everything.

"Do you want me to be there when you tell your parents?"

He doesn't ask about Santos. Santos wouldn't be stupid enough to raise a hand against her, but if he mans up and actually takes responsibility for the kid, Bobby will find a way to buy him a fancy car.

"Please," she says, clinging to his hand. "Bobby, tell me that everything's going to be okay. Tell me that I haven't messed everything up. That I can somehow be a mom to this kid, even if it means losing Betty and Mami and Papi. We both know, as soon as I tell Santos, he'll be on the next subway out of Queens."

"Yeah," he says, softly. "You're a fighter, Hilda. Always have been. So, if you want to have this kid, you will, and it may be tough, but you're gonna be an excellent mom."

She exhales, putting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you so much for coming. I almost didn't call. It's just that, when I was praying, the thought to call you suddenly popped into my head. I wasn't going to, but I'm so glad I did."

"I'm glad I came," he says, sincerely. "You can count on me," he promises.

…

"Hilda."

A rapping sound causes both of them to jerk awake, and Bobby quickly rolls off the bed and heads for the closet as Hilda says, "Just a minute, Mami."

Once he's safely inside, he hears her open the door.

"Hilda, sweetheart, can I sit down? We need to talk."

"Sure," Hilda says. "What's going on?"

"There's no soft way to tell you this, baby. That no-good Santos is in jail."

"What? What did he do?"

"Tried to steal Mr Del Rossi's car. I was afraid when I heard the news that Bobby had gotten himself caught, but no, it was definitely Santos."

Thank you, God, Bobby silently prays.

"Hilda, you're not going to visit him in jail. Your father and I can't stop you from dating him, but if you go near that place, there will be-"

"I understand," Hilda cuts in, sharply, her voice tinged with desperation.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Rosa says, softly. "I know you think we don't understand, but all we want is for you and Betty to be happy. And the truth is boys like Santos are going to make you laugh, make you feel alive, and then, they're going to leave you broken-hearted."

"Could you leave me alone?"

Rosa makes a sad sound. "Of course. Betty will bring you some cake, later. I love you, Hilda."

"I love you, too, Mami."

After a few minutes, Hilda opens the closet door.

Standing up, he hugs her, the tears on her face causing a sharp pang to go through him.

"I have to tell them. Tonight," she finally says, breaking the silence.

Stepping back, he takes a good look at her face.

"Alright," he says, holding out his hand. "Come on. It's best to do it, now, than even later."

…

"Bobby," the chipmunk says in surprise, giving him a bright smile. Then, her expression changes to curiosity. "When'd you get in?"

Before he can hug her, a sharp voice says, "A better question would be how? Hilda, if this hooligan has been in your room-"

"Ignacio? Oh, hello, Bobby," Rosa says, bustling over to pull him down, kissing his cheek. "Do you need some food, mijo? We have cake."

"He was in our daughter's room."

Suddenly, her grip tightens enough to cause him to wince. She begins speaking rapidly in Spanish, refusing to let go of him.

"Mom, let Bobby go," Betty pleads. "Look, they're both fully-"

He's fully dressed, aside from his shoes and belt. Hilda is still wearing her nightgown.

"Dad, make Mom let him go! I'm sure there's-"

"Rosa, let him go. I'm calling the police."

The pressure against his ears increases. "I warned you to never go into-"

"No, Dad, don't- Mom-"

"I'm pregnant!"

Suddenly, everything is unnaturally silent, and he belatedly realises he's now free, the pain receding.

"You're what?"

Bobby takes a breath, relieved the silence has finally been broken.

"Ai," Rosa mutters, taking Hilda's hand. "I'll make you some tea. Beatriz, little angel, take your cake and watch TV. This is for the older, though perhaps not smarter, people."

Betty grabs a plate of cake and a can of soda, quickly scrambling away, her eyes huge beneath her too-big glasses, and Hilda quietly allows Rosa to lead her to the table. Bobby finds himself on the end of a death glare from Ignacio.

"Hey," he protests. "She's with Santos. I get that you don't like me, Mr Suarez, but let's not plan on killing me for something I didn't do, okay?"

"My _child_ is pregnant," Ignacio says, finally. "You look me in the eye and swear. Swear on your mami and papi's life you aren't responsible."

Anger flares up in him. Looking him in the eye, he snaps, "If I were responsible, I'd be man enough to look you in the eye and tell you! I'm not. Hilda called earlier, crying, and asked me to come over. She took me to her room and told me about the baby. We laid down, and she cried some more. At some point, we fell asleep."

"You can stay," Ignacio says, curtly, turning to go back into the kitchen.

…

There's more silence as Hilda eats the cake and Rosa bustles around the kitchen.

"She wants to keep it," Bobby says, finally.

Both parents release a sigh as Hilda shoots him a dirty look, kicking him under the table, and Rosa sits down, taking her husband's hand. "If you do and decide you- you can't give it to anyone but us, sweetheart. If you have this baby, it's our grandchild, your sister's niece or nephew."

Hilda sniffs, wiping at her eyes. "I don't think I can have it and do that."

Nodding, Ignacio sighs, reaching over to take his daughter's hand. "We'll get Walter's parents to take Betty to her concert this weekend. You need to see a doctor. I'll convince them to let me take on another shift."

"We still have the bassinet and crib you and Betty slept in," Rosa says. "And I can make new clothes. But the three of us can have a girl's day, later on, and buy some new toys. This is going to make money even tighter, baby, and Betty may have to give some things up. If she lashes out, you must try to be kind to her. She's still a little girl."

"Thank you," Hilda says.

She still sounds so small, but Bobby's relieved to hear she sounds a little bit stronger than before, too.

…

Author's Notes: Next chapter, Bobby's parents are introduced.


End file.
